1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an indicating instrument having a self-luminescent indicator for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
An indicating instrument having a self-luminescent indicator which utilizes a flexible printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to as FPC) is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,087 (corresponding to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Hei 6-66601 filed by the same assignee).
The FPC used in the above indicating instrument has a straight portion carrying light emitting diodes (hereinafter referred to as LED) and a coil portion. When it is assembled, the coil portion is temporarily wound around a boss portion of an indicator (pointer), and an optical lens is fitted on the pointer. A cover is secured on the lens, and a rotary shaft of a movement is fitted to the boss portion. The FPC is removed from the boss portion and connected to a terminal of the movement so that it is retained in the movement at a designated interval.
However, the FPC has to be removed and connected to a terminal of the movement in a narrow space between the dial plate and the movement, increasing assembling time.
Another indicating instrument is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,045 (corresponding to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Hei 277718 filed by the same assignee).
However, when a dial plate and a movement including a decoration plate 901 and a pointer 903 are assembled, it is necessary to pass the pointer 903 and the decoration plate 901 through an opening 902 of the dial plate as shown in FIG. 27.